Actor Patrick Swayze died yesterday of pancreatic cancer. He was 57. Too damn young to be dying. What a lot of people probably didn’t know was that Mr. Swayze was a motorcyclist. Did some crazy stunts on bikes growing up. Lots of stories about Swayze and motorcycling are circulating on the internet. Here’s a few tidbits that I’ve found.

“In his early years, Mr. Swayze was a reckless motorcycle driver and a problem drinker.” Man, I knew I liked this guy besides for his role as Bodhi in Point Break. Drinking hard and riding crazy brings back memories. Now I'm not condoning drinking and riding, but just saying I can relate to stupid stuff we do growing up.
 
Read another story about him going for a ride after the premier of Ghost. The story goes that Swayze ran out of gas, so he waves down a cop, who won’t give him the time of day until he takes off his helmet to reveal who he is. At that point, the cop offered help, but Swayze was so pissed off, he refused help and pushed his bike to the gas station instead. Sounds like a biker mentality to me.

Gotta give the man props. He worked till the end on A&E’s The Beast. I’ve seen the pain cancer patients suffer, and the fact that he kept working until the end shows he had courage. Not just the fictional stuff demonstrated by Bodhi and James Dalton, but real fortitude.
 
So here's to you, Patrick Swayze. Here's to that last great ride.